REARING QUEENS. 
67 
larva; where the bees will be sure to cluster upon it and keep it 
warm, and carefully insert it as shown in figure 12, leaving an 
open space below it. 
If the first nucleus was formed from the only Italian stock in 
the yard, and more queen-cells are wanted, remove every queen- 
cell from it, and add another comb of eggs and brood from its pa- 
rent stock. But when no more qucen-cells are needed, leave one 
to hatch, and as by this time the brood will all be capped over, 
the bees will be liable to follow the young queen on her excur- 
sion to meet the drones. To prevent this, exchange one of the 
combs for one containing eggs and young larv®, when forming 
the other nuclei. Young queens will return unless lost by birds 
or other casualties, to which all queens are once exposed. Such 
loss is easily ascertained among so few bees, and we have only 
to insert another queen-cell, adding a comb containing eggs and 
brood, and repeat the trial. Should the parent stock be very 
populous, it may be swarmed by taking a queen from a nucleus 
belonging to a less populous stock, and another queen reared 
there. 
WHEN AND HOW TO SWARM THE BEES. 
Every populous stock, from which a nucleus has been formed, 
should be swarmed, if the weather is favorable, as soon as the 
queen in the nucleus has become fertile. This is, usually, in 
from six to ten days after inserting the queen-cell, and is readily 
determined by examining the combs for eggs. We now, unless 
the yield of honey is very abundant, confine the young queen 
